Longdon, David - Wild River 2 x CDs (expanded)
SKU
23-EERCD 0034
“‘Wild River’, the first solo album from David Longdon, the late
lead singer of Big Big Train, has been re-mixed, re-mastered and
expanded.
‘Wild River’ was originally self-released in 2004 and at that time
only a minimal quantity of CDs were produced. Whilst it was briefly
available via the Big Big Train website, it has long been out of
print. David had always intended to re-mix and repackage it.
However, his sudden death in November 2021 meant that his plan never
came to fruition. In a final act of remembrance by his long-time
colleague Rob Aubrey, Big Big Train’s engineer since 1994, David’s
wishes have now been fulfilled. The album packaging has also been
re-designed by Longdon’s friend and collaborator Steve Vantsis.
Sarah Ewing, David’s partner, recalls why he was so keen to revisit
‘Wild River’. “David was really proud of those songs,” she says. “He
produced and engineered the album himself, but always felt that the
recording, the production and the mix never quite met his
expectations. Over the years he became much more skilled at his
craft, and had he been alive now, he would have been able to deliver
the album the way he always wanted it to be. He’d also always wanted
to improve the cover art, but at the time he’d spent all his money
on the recording and mixing.”
‘Wild River’ represented a transitional period for David, both
artistically and emotionally. His father, Eric, had passed away in
1994, he had been through a divorce, and he’d auditioned to be the
lead singer of Genesis following the departure of Phil Collins.
However, after a protracted audition-cum-rehearsal process, he was
immensely disappointed to lose out on the role. Which, with
hindsight, was a blessing in disguise.
Around this time, XTC guitarist Dave Gregory was playing a session
where he first met David. Between XTC projects, Gregory had been
recording a version of the Genesis epic ‘Supper’s Ready’ and David,
a big XTC fan, offered to sing on it, adding, “I really need to do
this.” Gregory was astonished at how quickly David recorded the
vocal parts: “Soup to nuts in an afternoon and an evening.” Rather
than accepting payment for the session, David invited Gregory to
play guitar and Mellotron on the work-in-progress ‘Wild River’.
Gregory recalls, “The Genesis experience galvanised him. He was
saying, ‘Look, this is what I can do. And I’m gonna f*cking show
you’. That was a huge motivation for him. He felt rejected, so had
to work a lot harder.”
Big Big Train’s sound engineer and David’s friend Rob Aubrey was
asked to remix the album earlier this year. “It still fills me with
sadness that he’s gone, but ‘Wild River’ needed to be made available
again as it is such a strong album.” The last word on ‘Wild River’
goes to Sarah: “I don’t think it sounds like an album that’s 20
years old; it sounds very immediate and contemporary and that speaks
of David’s talent,” says Ewing. “It’s hard for me to be objective,
but I hear the younger David and in that regard it’s a beautiful
time capsule.”
The CD format features nine live songs recorded in 2004 and also
features a bonus studio track not available on the 2004 edition of
the album, and also includes an extended version of one song from
the studio recordings.”
- LabelEnglish Electric
- UPC796548990391